Tonight marks the beginning of The Nine Days; this is a period of religious observance each year that is marked by a more sombre frame of reference. We reflect on challenging and difficult times in Jewish history,

such as the destruction of the Temple and many activities are suspended temporarily. This includes the restriction against eating meat and drinking wine (except on Shabbat when it’s a mitzvah to eat meat). So while meat is off the menu, in the spirit of introspection, we thought we’d share a new milchig alternative and so much more!

Tempo Allure Yoghurt
Tempo has recently introduced the new Allure range of yoghurts (Certified Mehadrin and Dairy, Chalav Yisrael) in a variety of flavours: coffee; vanilla; apricot; blueberry; strawberry; forest fruit, and mango/passionfruit (see image below). Made to traditional European recipes, the Allure yoghurt is ‘pot set’ and is paired with delicious fruit or flavours. With Tempo’s decision to ‘pot set’, this effectively eliminates the need for artificial sweeteners, colours, flavours or preservatives. This new range is available at Krinsky’s, Grandma Moses, Glick’s on Hall Street and Coles and Franklins supermarkets.

Olive Leaf Australia
The KA understands that nowadays, kosher consumers are more health conscious than ever before. In this mid-winter edition of Kosher KApers, this is the perfect time to announce that we now certify Olive Leaf Australia’s most popular product, Olive Leaf Extract in two flavours: Natural and Peppermint (manufactured by Comvita Australia). This high quality and fresh supplement (see images below) offers a vast array of benefits and is regularly taken daily as a formidable antioxidant support with free radical scavenging properties. In fact, Olive Leaf Extract is also known to assist in the maintenance of a healthy cardiovascular system. It is no wonder this was voted the Number One Health and Wellbeing product in the 2011 Australian Women’s Weekly Product of the Year awards.

Amy Gibson, Comvita’s operations manager adds, “We are so proud to bring this extraordinary product to the Jewish community for the first time. Rabbi Groner was so helpful and ensured our kosher journey ran smoothly. We were particularly impressed with the cutting-edge technology used by the KA, ensuring that our kosher certificates were arranged in real-time right here in our Brisbane office! We want kosher consumers to know that our Olive Leaf Extract (of which we sell 2000 bottles per day), has been processed using only the freshest leaves and research has proven conclusively that fresh is best!”

For more information or to purchase Olive Leaf Extract in natural and peppermint flavours, simply visit www.comvita.com.au (where you can now conveniently see our KA logo directly below the product images); connect via Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/comvitaaustralia, or pop into pharmacies or health food stores nationally.

Queen Fine Foods
Do colourings, essences and extracts hold a regal position in your pantry? We hope so! We wanted to let you know that Queen Fine Foods (www.queen.com.au) now offers an extended kosher product range. In addition to food colourings and natural essences, including lemon, almond and rosewater (perfect for Turkish Delight!), Queen is renowned for its expertise in all-things-vanilla. Using only the finest ingredients (none of which are genetically modified) the aroma and strength of Queen’s products emanate from hand-harvested vanilla beans. For example, Queen’s award-winning organic vanilla bean paste (see image below) is preservative-free and contains no allergens. It is also a convenient alternative for fresh vanilla bean pods and draws on more than a century of vanilla know-how. We think it is fabulous that the entire Queen vanilla range is kosher (Certified Mehadrin and Pareve)!

Sam Himstedt, marketing manager, Queen Fine Foods, explains, “We are thrilled to offer this kosher selection to the Jewish community. We love that baking and creating appetising, aromatic food is a meaningful, symbolic way of marking the many Jewish festivals in the calendar. We are so pleased that each of our products, including our Dried Spent Vanilla Beans and Organic Canadian Maple Syrup (our only product to feature dual kosher certification: KA and OU), is widely available across Australia to add a depth and deliciousness to dishes.”

Queen’s glycerine is the sole-listed kosher glycerine in our Kosher Product Directory and note that this particular product is only available at selected IGA stores. It is also important for kosher consumers to be aware that while much of the Queen range is kosher (20 products), it is not the entire assortment, so to double-check the kosher status of a Queen product, it is best to refer to our Kosher Product Directory (www.ka.org.au) or ask via our Facebook Group “Kashrut Authority of Australia & NZ” (now with 1050+ members!).

Boulder Canyon Natural Foods Kosher Chips
Well, we are only half-way through 2012, and already we can see that this will be known as the year of the kosher chips! We don’t remember a time in Australia when we have seen so many kosher chips in various flavours and textures available nation-wide. The latest addition is from Boulder Canyon (), now available in four varieties: Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper; Totally Natural; Hickory Barbeque and Malt Vinegar & Sea Salt. These chips are thickly sliced and slow-cooked in small kettles using sunflower or safflower oil. Boulder Canyon premium potato chips contain no trans-fat or cholesterol and have distinctive flavours we are sure kosher consumers will love. This range is available in health food stores, such as About Life (31-37 Oxford Street, Bondi Junction).

Flavoured Syrups
You have communicated to us that it wasn’t easy when the Cottee’s range of toppings were removed from our Kosher Product Directory. We understand! While there are alternatives, such as the Hershey’s range, we wanted to let you know that the Guittard Chocolate Company also produce a low-fat Dark Chocolate Syrup and a Caramel Syrup (both D, see image below). These two popular products are ideal served on ice cream, mochas, and lattés - or simply as a dessert topping. Guittard is the oldest family owned and operated chocolate company in the United States and these two kosher syrups are now available at health food stores (for example, About Life in Bondi Junction).

This week we have covered the healthy (Olive Leaf Extract), the sweet (Guittard Syrups) and the healthy and sweet (Tempo’s Allure ‘pot set’ yoghurts) and just to mix it up a little, we have added a little salt, profiling the new Boulder Canyon chips. So no fleishig to be found, but we have a feeling we will be just fine for the next few days at least!